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http://www.explorermagazin.de/fuer07/fu07amstar1.htm
This website is in German.
Willem van der Leek
Greetings Ben.
[ 04-04-2007: Message edited by: Maasdam ]
I love the shots from the air showing the submerged stern sections. I have heard the currents are very strong around her so wonder if she will become a dive site in time. I expect she is still too unstable, and maybe for a while, for such activities?
Pam
quote:Originally posted by DAMBROSI:A sad thing to see. It was the last ship my late husband seen last year before he passed away. He got to see her while she still had the forward funnel. And all he kept saying was, "She didn't look like that before. She didn't look that way before." He was on her during WW II when she was the WEST POINT. Now, both are at rest. Both at peace after a long battle.
Oh dear that's so sad, just crying with you.
Ben.
http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=483&c=&ll=28.346077,-14.180442&z=0&t=k&hl=en
[ 04-04-2007: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]
quote:Originally posted by LeBarryboat:What happened to the stern section? Did is some how float out to sea and sink? And the middle section? Doesn't look like enough depth for the ship to sink into????
From the overhead pics it looks like it just collapsed into a pile of rubble on the shallow ocean floor. Now the forward section has ended up the same way.
quote:Originally posted by DAMBROSI:Thank you PamM and Maasdam...it's just how I felt when I had seen the photos. It was a conclusion for me in away. And yes, very sad.
My father sailed on her as West Point from New York to Casablanca in 1943. While I'm sorry she didn't sink in one piece, at least she avoided the beach, and for that I am happy.
quote:Originally posted by NAL:It seems that internally there was nothing to really hold her together and she just fell in on herself and collapsed.
It is amazing that she withstood years of constantly being pounded by the waves. In the close up pictures of her, the upper part of her hull was being held in place by very few intact ribs or supports. Makes me wonder if the men and women who built her back in the late 1930s could have ever imagined how long she would have lasted.
quote:Originally posted by NAL: Does anyone know if she still contained soft furnishings during this last tow? I would think Chandris would have cleaned her out. But where are the furnishings?
Chandris did not own the liner by the time she was towed--they sold her to Silver Moon Ferries, Ltd. in 1984, and she was renamed ALFERDOSS. In 1993 they in turn sold her to the Thai businessmen who were planning to take her to Thailand and convert her there into a hotel/business center at Phuket.
And yes, her soft furnishings were still in place at the time of the wreck in January, 1994. First, the wreck was guarded as the insurers' salvagers took hard fittings of value, like portholes, machinery, brass fittings, etc. Then, the wreck was left at the mercy of the local islanders to grab what they could. Here is an excerpt from Lawrence Driscoll's excellent book on the AMERICA:
"On weekends a carnival atmosphere prevailed as families and friends made an outing out of removing the ship's contents....They took anything that could be carried away or ripped out. Bedding and beds, carpets and closets, tables and chairs. Fights broke out. One lucky person helped himself to the ship's two grand pianos. Others ripped out wood decks and teak handrails...Amidst all the dismantlement and destruction, there were some small efforts of preservation. Most notable was the careful removal of several panels of the Bourdelle hand-carved murals that had graced the First Class Dining Room. Although these treasures remain in the hands of an islander, they are in a relatively safe place, awaiting some one to rescue them and bring them home to America."
Rich
btw: one of the pianos fell into the sea when they were trying to get it off the ship.
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